22 brave our holiday challenge and deck a ball with cheer and folly

Really, it's not a given -- which is all the more reason to give a salute to the 22 celebrities who joined our mission to create holiday cheer through our 2nd annual "Have a Ball" auction.

These famous folks -- from the worlds of design, theater, food, sports, television, radio, music, art and beyond -- let their creative juices loose on a 3-inch plastic foam ball we gave them. Some adorned it, some bejeweled it, some bypassed it entirely on the way to making something truly celebratory.

Yet, in the end, all the ornaments (made with a budget cap of $10) have things in common: Each shows something of the heart and inner stirrings of its maker (not to mention his or her autograph). And each can be yours. They all will be found on the auction block at chicagotribune.com/ornaments, with online bidding starting Sunday and ending at noon Dec. 17.

Last year, readers bid away, with the highest bid ($330) going to the ornament made by Chicago Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith and his wife, MaryAnne. Altogether, the 23 ornaments raised $2,965, with proceeds benefiting Chicago Tribune Holiday Giving, a campaign of Chicago Tribune Charities, a McCormick Tribune Foundation Fund.

Likewise, when you bid and buy this year, you will be contributing to the Holiday Giving fund, which fights homelessness, hunger and illiteracy in the Chicago area.

So cruise the photo gallery of H&G elves below and check out the other 16 "Have a Ball" ornaments on PAGES 4-5. Then bid, bid, bid.

To do that, go to chicagotribune.com/ornaments. Minimum bid is $25. Winning bidders will be notified Dec. 18 and receive their ornament before Christmas.

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The who's who of H&G's celebrity ornament challenge

Angela Adams

Designer

Tatsu Aoki

Musician

Lin Brehmer

WXRT-FM deejay

Kathy Brock

WLS-Ch. 7 ancho

Dionisio Ceballos

Artist/filmmaker

Fong Choo

Ceramist

Brice Cooper

Interior designer/HGTV host

Joan Houlehen

Ornament-make

John Kass

Chicago Tribune columnist

Stacy Keach

Actor

Jim Lasko

Redmoon Theater artistic director

Tim Long

Chicago History Museum curator

Herbert Migdoll

Joffrey Ballet design director

Karim Rashid

Designer

Rachael Ray

Cookbook author, TV host

Kim Seiter

Textile designer

Tony Stavish

Interior designer

Southpaw

White Sox mascot

Dorothy Tucker

WBBM-Ch. 2 reporter

Lord Wedgwood

Wedgwood heir and spokesman

John Williams

WGN radio host

Robyn Mineko Williams

Hubbard Street Dance Co. dancer

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HAVE A BALL

Want to try your hand at making ornaments like these?

All of our celebrity ornament-makers have shared materials lists and instructions -- and their holiday wishes for the world.

The Nutcracker Ornament

Who made this: Herbert Migdoll

Who's that? Artist and design director for the Joffrey Ballet, whose production of "The Nutcracker" runs through Dec. 27 at the Auditorium Theatre (www.joffrey.com)

Holiday wish for the world: "Kindness to each other all over the world and somehow ending the war."

-- Beth Botts, ebotts@tribune.com

About this ornament

Holiday it celebrates: The Christmas of "The Nutcracker"

Materials needed (and cost):

Styrofoam ornament (provided)

3 color photocopies ($4)

1 bottle Mod Podge, decoupage glaze ($3)

1 sponge brush ($2)

White and gold paint (on hand)

Hazelnut (on hand)

Nutcracker doll (on hand)

Total: $9

Equipment needed: Digital camera, scissors

Steps to make it

1. Photograph nutcracker doll's head with a hazelnut in its mouth.

2. Print out photo and make three color photocopies large enough for head to cover one side of ball.

3. Cut out faces from copies and use decoupage glaze to apply them to ball, cutting triangular notches to make paper conform to sphere.

4. Touch up edges with paint.

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The `I Made It Myself' Ornament

Who made this: John Williams

Who's that? Host of the John Williams Show on WGN-AM 720 (3 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays)

Holiday wish for the world: "Understanding."

-- Elaine Matsushita,ematsushita@tribune.com

About this ornament

Holiday it celebrates: Christmas and the whole winter season

Materials needed (and cost):

Styrofoam ball (provided)

12-by-12-inch sheet of foil ("What -- 10 cents?)

Spray glue ($2)

Pine/christmas tree shavings (virtually free)

Glitter (79 cents)

Rhinestones ($1.98)

Total: About $4.87

Steps to make it

1. Wrap Styrofoam ball in foil and twist excess to a strand that you can then hold and hook around.

2. Hold the ball and spray the foil with glue. Then sprinkle the glitter on.

3. Spray and sprinkle the shavings on.

4. Add a light coating of glue/glitter on top.

5. I glue gunned the rhinestone on last, but this would best be done first.